Cheza's Tears
by One Of The Pack
Summary: Ah, Cheza, where are you? Where are you when Kiba needs you the most? thought Toboe sadly, looking down at Kiba’s sleeping form. Longerbetter summary inside.
1. Wounded

**Summary: **_Ah, Cheza, where are you? Where are you when Kiba needs you the most? _thought Toboe sadly, looking down at Kiba's sleeping form. Cheza has gone missing and Kiba's been wounded. This is my first FanFic, so I don't know if it's any good. My chapters are going to be kind of short, I have troubles writing long chapters. I would appreciate it if I wasn't flamed, please.

**A/N: **I love Wolf's Rain! I think the characters might be a little ooc in this story, very sorry if they are. I kind of have an idea where this is going, but not really. Kiba is my favorite character from WR so this fic is mostly about him.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wolf's Rain or any of the characters.

_**Chapter One: Wounded**_

"I see you for what you really are," said the tall man, aiming his gun at the three figures who stood before him. Tsume glared at him.

"How is it that Porkey managed to avoid this mess?" he growled.

"You think you can fool me?" bellowed the man. "Damn you trickster wolves!" He swung his gun around and pointed it at Toboe's head.

"No!" snarled Kiba, leaping in front of the man just as he pulled the trigger.

"Ah! Kiba!" Toboe caught the dark haired teen as he fell back against him, the crack of the gun still echoing through the air. Blood poured from Kiba's right shoulder and covered Toboe's hand.

"Wh-why did you do that?" asked Toboe, his voice fearful. Kiba staggered to his feet and put a hand over his wound.

"Because you…weren't going to move," said Kiba hoarsely.

"So…" hissed the man. "You seem to be their leader. Without you, what will you pack do?" He pointed the gun at Kiba's chest. Kiba reached back, grabbed a hold of Toboe's shirt and leapt over the man, pulling the startled boy with him.

"Hey! Over here!" called Tsume. The man spun around and found a large grey wolf leaping at him. He fired the gun again and again; Tsume felt a bullet just graze one of his legs and dodged the rest of the bullets and clamped his teeth into the man's arm. The man shouted and grabbed hold of Tsume's neck. He kept firing the gun, regardless of what he was shooting at, shaking his arm back and forth to try and dislodge the wolf. Tsume pinned his ears back against the sound of the gun.

Kiba landed on his feet behind the man just as Tsume leapt. The impact from the land sent pain through the bullet hole in his arm, so badly that Kiba dropped to his knees, releasing Toboe's shirt.

"Hey, Kiba, are you okay?" asked Toboe, kneeling down.

"Y-yeah," replied Kiba shakily. "I'm fine—aaahhhh!" Kiba yelled in pain as three of the man's stray bullets found him as their target. Blood spread first across his left thigh, then a bullet scraped the side of his ribs, and then on the side of his stomach. Gasping, he tried to curl over his wounds but it only made the pain worse.

"Tsume! TSUME!" shouted Toboe, his voice almost cracking. The man with the gun screamed and toppled over, Tsume's teeth buried in his neck. The grey wolf looked up at the sound of Toboe's shout. Then he caught sight of the bleeding boy on the ground. Suddenly a white haired man dressed in tight black leather appeared where the wolf had stood. He hurried over to where Kiba lay on the ground and dropped down beside Toboe.

"Hang on, Kiba," he whispered. The boy's blue-green eyes were half-open, not really seeing them. His breathing was jerky and shallow. Toboe looked away from Kiba's pale face and searched the sky to see how late it was. The sun was setting. _That's good,_ he thought. _Now, when the moon comes out, Kiba's wounds will heal faster!_ He looked over in the opposite direction and he felt his whole body go cold. The horizon was darkening but there was no sign of the moon at all. And there were no clouds. _Oh no. Tonight's the night of the new moon…_

**One Of The Pack:** Was it any good? Be honest, please. I know it was short, but I didn't know how to make it longer. I'll try to make the next chapters a little bit longer. R&R stands for Read and Review, right? I think so. Anyway, will you please review my story? It would make me and the rest of the Pack really happy! You could even say it sucked and I wouldn't mind! It would make me sad, but it meant that you at least read it! It might make the rest of my Pack mad and they might chase you, but I can't do anything about that. Oh, if you don't want to call me 'One Of The Pack' because it's really long, just call me Amaya. It's not my real name, but is a nickname I like to be called. Hope you liked my story!

This is Amaya, One Of The Pack, signing out! (howl)


	2. Crimson Tears

**A/N: **Hi! I'm glad some people reviewed my story! I don't know if there will be any pairings in this story. Sorry. Happy New Year, everyone! I thought I'd post this chapter today as a little present. I'm sorry if anyone was disappointed with my story or will be by future chapters. Anyway, here's chapter two!

**Disclaimer:** Nope. I still don't own Wolf's Rain or the characters. I do own the plot of this story though.

_**Chapter Two: Crimson Tears**_

"We need to find shelter," said Tsume. "And something to put on his wounds. At least when the moon rises, he can sit out in it's light for a while and heal his wounds faster." Toboe looked down at the ground as the older wolf voice the younger one's thoughts.

"Um, Tsume…?" he began awkwardly. Tsume turned to look at him.

"What?"

"Um, well…the moon won't help Kiba tonight. It's a new moon."

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_Man, Kiba and the others are going to love this,_ thought Hige, letting the smell of the half-cooked meat over power his sense of smell. Even wrapped in thick cloth the smell was amazing. As he neared where he remembered leaving Kiba, he stopped. Over the smell of meat, he could scent something else. Coppery, fresh, what was it…blood! He set the bundle of 'borrowed' meat down and wandered off a few paces, testing the scents in the air. He looked around and saw crimson blood on the ground. Only a few feet away he found the corpse of a tall man with his throat torn out and a gun in his hand. A little ways away there was a large pool of blood with Kiba's scent all around it. _What in the world happened here?_ He wondered. Then he saw some bullets stuck in the ground and everything made sense. The bullets, the man's gun, the blood… Hige got down on all fours and sniffed the ground. _That's weird…I don't smell any of Toboe or Tsume's blood…just Kiba's! But that's a lot of blood…_

"Hey! Hige! _Hige!_" The boy looked up and saw a familiar figure farther up ahead. Toboe was waving at him frantically from near a small cave not to far away. Hige got up and waved back. He ran to get the meat he had brought, then sprinted up to where Toboe stood.

"What happened?" he asked. Toboe looked like he was shaking and there was blood all over his hands.

"It-it's Kiba," he said softly. He pointed into the cave where Hige could barely see the crouched form of Tsume. "He was shot."

"How bad?" asked Hige. Tears glistened slightly in Toboe's eyes.

"Bad," he said. "Four times." Hige walked past the tearful boy and peered into the cave. Kiba was stretched out on the ground, his shirt lying on the ground beside him. Crouched over him was Tsume, wiping the blood off his pale skin with a strip of cloth.

"H-how is he?" asked Toboe quietly. Tsume looked up.

"Not good," he growled. "I can't get the bullet in his shoulder out and his stomach won't stop bleeding." Hige set the meat down against the wall and crouched down beside Tsume.

"Is this…food?" asked Toboe, poking at the bundle with his foot. Tsume glared at him.

"Of course it is, runt," said Hige. "You can have some of it, that's what it's for." Toboe unwrapped the meat and the smell spread throughout the cave, making even Tsume's stomach growl. Toboe pulled out a piece for himself, then picked up two more. He sat down cross legged beside Hige and passed out the other two pieces.

"Should we try to wake Kiba up?" asked Toboe after a few moments of almost complete silence, minus the sound of the three of them eating. "I mean, what if he's hungry?"

"Do you honestly think Kiba can eat anything in this condition?" snapped Tsume in short temper. Toboe cowered back a little from the older wolf and didn't say anything more.

"You're…right…"

"Kiba!" Toboe dropped his meat and rose up to his knees. Kiba's eyes were open, but glazed with pain. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible…"

"We can't get the bullet in your shoulder out," said Tsume. "And your bleeding won't stop."

"The moon…why—" Kiba broke off and clenched his jaw shut.

"Kiba, what's wrong?" asked Toboe, worry etched across his face.

"It hurts…"

"Damn it!" swore Tsume. "What the hell can we do now? The moon's gone, Cheza's gone, and now Kiba's dying!" Toboe's eyes widened.

"He's…dying?" Toboe whispered. Just then Kiba gasped and his head fell to one side, his eyes closed again. Toboe's first reaction was panic.

"Quiet down, runt, or you'll wake him up again," said Hige. "He's just passed out, that's all. It's better that way. That way, he won't feel the pain."

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_Kiba's Dream, from Kiba's POV_

'I can hear her. She's calling to me. But I can't see her! Everything around me is black. Up ahead, I can see a faint reddish light.

"_Kiba! Kiba!_" I run forward, hearing her voice again. It's coming from up ahead, where the reddish light is. I feel like I'm floating. My paws are running on nothing, and yet I'm staying up. I'm not falling into the black. Slowly the red light grows bigger and bigger until I find myself in a huge room.

"_Wake up, Kiba! This one needs you!_" I see her in front of me, her legs chained to the floor. Her pink hair falls forward slightly, covering her face. Cheza… In her lap she holds a bloody white wolf. Wait a minute, that's me! What's going on? The wolf opens it's eyes and stares right at me, golden eyes glazed. Now I'm inside the wolf, looking at the room from the wolf's point of view. It's really hard to breathe and pain travels like fire all over my body. I can hear my own labored breaths in my ears, barely audible above my heart. It hurts so much… maybe if I just fall asleep right now the pain will go away…

"_No, Kiba! Don't go! This one is still here! This one needs you! Please, Kiba!_" I open my eyes, not even realizing I had closed them. My mouth feels dry and my chest burns with each breath I take. Why won't the pain stop? Cheza suddenly wraps her arms around my neck and the pain flares white hot before slowly subsiding. Slowly my pain leaks away, all the aches cease. I lift my head to look at Cheza and lick her face. She opens her red eyes and smiles slightly.

"_Thank you Kiba. This one would be very sad if you left. This one needs you. They need you._" Tears well in her eyes. But the tears aren't right. They are blood red. I watch as the crimson tears slowly run down her cheeks and land on my face. They seep down through my fur and warm my skin. The warmth grows, spreading over my entire body. It's comforting. I close my eyes and drift away, sleeping peacefully with Cheza at my side.'

_End of Kiba's Dream, Back to regular POV_

Tsume finished tying the bandages around the deep cut on Kiba's arm and on his leg. Outside the cave, the sky was starting to get lighter. Curled up in the back of the cave was Toboe, sound asleep. Hige was dozing by the cave entrance. Tsume rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had been up all night fixing Kiba's wounds and there was no moon to replenish his strength. He had finally managed to get the bullet out of Kiba's shoulder and he was glad that Kiba hadn't woken up in the process. It would have been even more difficult and painful if he had. _What are we going to do now?_ Wondered Tsume. _Kiba won't be able to travel for a few days, at least until the moon comes out. And we still have to find Cheza! _

"Mmmm…Tsume?" came a sleepy voice from the back of the cave. Toboe sat up and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "How's Kiba doing?" He yawned widely.

"All right," said Tsume. "Hey, now that you're awake, why don't you watch him for a while? Tell me if he wakes up." He stood up and stretched, then walked stiffly over to a spot where he could see out of the cave. Changing into his wolf form, he laid down and promptly closed his eyes.

'oh, and if he starts bleeding again, wake me up,' he said, yawning. (the '' marks around the words mean he's talking as a wolf, just for future reference.) Toboe blinked and stood up. _Man, Tsume must have been awake all night_, he thought, coming to sit next to Kiba. He looked out at the now grey sky, thinking longingly about Cheza. Just being around her was calming. Now, without her, everyone seemed more tense, as if they were scared of something. They were always cautious. When Cheza was around, everyone relaxed. Maybe it was her scent, or her gentle smile…or maybe it was just her simply being there. Even Tsume felt the difference when she was around, even if he didn't admit it. Toboe sighed. Where did she go, anyway? Why did she leave? _Oh, where are you, Cheza? Why aren't you here when Kiba needs you the most? _Thought Toboe, looking sadly down at Kiba's sleeping form. _All because of a stupid accident…now we're stuck here. Kiba could have died…to save me? Why would he do that?_

"Cheza, where ever you are, please come back," Toboe whispered. "I don't know what to do. Kiba needs help and none of us know what to do for him. Please Cheza, please come back."

**One Of The Pack:** Was it okay? I hope Kiba's dream didn't seem too lame. I'm not really good at writing in first person. I wanted to try it out and I hope it seemed okay. I'm working on the third chapter and it should be done soon. But I won't post chapter three until I start writing chapter four. That way, I won't fall behind. Please review!

This is Amaya, One Of The Pack, signing out! (howl)


	3. Something's Wrong

**A/N: **Hi! I don't have that much to say about this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own Wolf's rain.

_**Chapter Three: Something's Wrong**_

Kiba opened his eyes slowly and looked around him. Beside him sat Toboe, half asleep. Tsume, in his wolf form was stretched out by the entrance of the cave. Stone walls curved up over his head and he felt cool stone underneath him. Hige was asleep near the cave entrance as well, his mouth slightly open. Outside, the sky was a pale red and gold and the sun could be seen just creeping up into the sky. Despite the cool air around him and the stone beneath him, he could still feel the warmth from his dream, coursing through his body. He tried to move and stopped when pain flared in his shoulder and stomach. His slight movement made Toboe blink and open his eyes all the way. The young boy rubbed one eye and looked around. Then he looked down at Kiba and found a pair of blue-green eyes staring back at him.

"Kiba!" he said, rather quietly. "How do you feel?" Kiba blinked and considered the question. How did he feel? He took a deep breath and winced as the pain rose again.

"Sore," Kiba said finally. Toboe smiled slightly.

"Do your wounds hurt very much?"

"…no, not really…"

"Tsume told me to wake him up if _you_ woke up, but I don't know if I should. He stayed up all night to bandage your wounds and he's really tired. Are you sure you're not in pain?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm not sure if I can move without it hurting, but I'm fine right now."

"You were really brave, Kiba," said Toboe, looking down at his hands in his lap. "I just froze up when that guy pointed the gun at me. I'm really sorry for getting you into this mess. Really I am." Kiba smiled slightly.

"Heh. That's what friends are for, right?" Toboe looked back up from his hands, smiling too.

"Friends…"

"Yeah. Hey, do I smell food?" asked Kiba looking around. Toboe stood up.

"Are you hungry?" Kiba nodded slightly.

"Did someone say 'food'?" Hige opened his eyes and stretched.

"Hey, Kiba, you're awake! That's great! I thought we were going to lose you for a little bit last night."

"Aw, Hige, don't say things like that!" protested Toboe. "Kiba wouldn't die, not without rescuing Cheza!"

'how's he going to rescue her if we don't even know where she is?' growled Tsume. 'man, you guys are noisier than a den of pups.'

"Come on, Tsume, lighten up a little," said Hige, picking up a piece of now cold meat. He tossed a piece to Toboe and sat down to munch on his own.

"Is food _all _you think about?" asked Tsume, back in his human form. Hige thought for a moment, then grinned.

"Yeah, pretty much," he said, taking another bite out of his food. Kiba sniffed the air and lifted his head up. Then he pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around.

"Toboe," he began, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Pain flamed in his wounds and he hissed in pain.

"Hey, Kiba!" said Hige. "Don't move like that. You're still healing!" Kiba dropped back down to lay flat on his back, his breathing slightly labored.

"Do you think he could eat something now?" asked Toboe, looking at Tsume. Tsume shrugged.

"Don't ask me, I'm not the one that was shot. If he's hungry and thinks he can eat, give him food." Toboe picked up a smaller piece of meat and walked over to Kiba.

"Kiba, do you think you can eat?" he asked. Kiba thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. Toboe sat down next to him and tore the meat into little bits. Kiba sniffed again and exhaled.

"Hige found this, didn't he?" he asked. " I can smell the city on it." He pushed himself up on his elbows again. Toboe hooked an arm around his shoulders and eased him up into a sitting position.

"Hey, it's not my fault that was the only place I could get it from," said Hige around a mouthful of meat. "Just eat it. It's all we have." Kiba raised a hand and took one of the pieces of meat from Toboe. After he ate it, he took a few more.

"Don't eat too much," warned Tsume. "You were hit in the gut, remember?" Kiba put the meat back in Toboe's hand as the same thought occurred to him.

"We should get moving as soon as possible," said Kiba. "We have to find Cheza."

"And they say _I_ have a single track mind," murmured Hige. Then louder, he said, "Listen Kiba. We all know that you need to find Cheza, but look at you! You can't even sit up on your own, let alone walk." Kiba turned his head away, ashamed at his own weakness.

"Put me back down," he said to Toboe. "I'm tired." Toboe nodded and eased Kiba back down.

"It's not your fault, Kiba," said Toboe. "It's mine. If I had just moved, you wouldn't have had to jump in front of me. This whole mess is my fault." Now Hige shook his head.

"I'm the one that left you guys. I should have been their to help. I was the one who lead you guys there. It's my fault for not checking to see who the human was." Tsume growled.

"Can we just drop it? It's no one's fault. We were just acting like ourselves. Hige was hungry, Toboe was chicken, I was observing, and Kiba was the hero. Now Kiba's hurt, Hige's probably still hungry, Toboe's helping, and I'm watching again. It doesn't matter what happened. It's over." Kiba closed his eyes. _So…Tsume is worried too. Typical, him not wanting us to see it. _He shifted his wounded arm slowly. Under Tsume's bandages, the wound felt hot. _It's probably just healing…_ he thought and drifted slowly to sleep again.

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_Kiba's Dream, from Kiba's POV_

'My eyes open and I rise to my feet the minute the smell of smoke reaches my nose. Ahead of me, behind me, all around me, I see dancing red and gold flames, entwined with grey smoke.'

"_Hige! Kiba! Tsume! Help me!_" 'My ears prick forward at the sound of Toboe's yelp. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, the heat around me building. I tuck my tail between my legs. I raise my head and howl, listening for the responses of the others.'

"_Kiba! Where are you?_" 'Now I hear Hige's voice, calling to me from the left.'

"_Kiba! Kiba!_" 'My heart almost stops at the sound of Cheza's gentle voice, filled with fear. My eyes scan the fire for a gap and find a small one, right ahead of me. I leap through it, feeling the heat singe my belly. I hear Hige's voice growing louder, calling for me and the others. But where is he! I can't see a thing. The smoke stings my eyes and makes everything waver.'

"_Here's a way out! Follow me!_" I heard Tsume shout, from farther away. "_Come on Toboe!_" 'So Toboe and Tsume have found a way out. But where's Hige? And Cheza? I have to find them!'

"_Cheza, where's Kiba?!_"

"_This one does not know!_" 'Hige's found Cheza! I howled again, the sound almost muffled by the flames.'

"_I hear him! Maybe he's trapped!_ _Kiba! Howl again!_" 'Hige's faint response floats to my ears. I'm panting hard now, smoke filling my lungs. If I don't get out of here fast, I'm going to die! No way! I search for a way out. I'm completely surrounded. But I don't care. I'm finding the others and I'm getting us out of here! I back up a few steps and run right at the flames. Tensing all the muscles in my hind legs, I sailed over the flames. My breaths came in ragged wheezes.

'_Kiba's not responding! C'mon Kiba, howl!_" 'I cough and try to howl, but there's too much smoke. Just ahead of me I see a gap, leading out of the burning forest. Desperate for clean air, I bolt towards it. I pass through the gap in the flames and find my self standing in an open field. I turn around and see an awful sight. In front of me, an entire forest is burning. I can hear the shrieks of birds as their home burned.'

"_Tsume! The opening's blocked! We can't get out that way!_"

"_Do we have another choice?!_ _Come on!_"

"_C'mon Cheza, we have to find Kiba! Toboe's found Tsume, and I found you, but we can't find Kiba!_"

"_This one thinks that there is no way out._" 'As I take deep breathes of clean air, I realize something. My new pack is trapped in there, dying. I have to find them! I take one last deep breath of clean, smoke free air and leap back into the forest. I howl loudly, the heat almost overwhelming me.'

"_Tsume! That's Kiba! Maybe he knows a way out!_"

"_Cheza! I heard him! He's okay!_" 'Relief floods my system, knowing that they heard me and that they were coming. I howl again, leading them to me. Soon I saw the wavering figures of a lean grey wolf and a small reddish-brown wolf running towards me. But in front of me is a huge wall of flame. I move to a place where the flames are lower and howled again. It is getting hotter and hotter by the second. Toboe leaps over the flames and lands next to me, panting hard. I point the way to the ever shrinking gap that I had just come through. Toboe waits for me, to see if I will follow him, but I stand still, waiting as Tsume jumps over the flames.

"_Come on, Kiba!_" said Toboe. "_You have to come out too!_" 'I shake my head, wheezing painfully.'

"_I have to find Hige and Cheza!_" 'I explain. Tsume and Toboe both look at me then turn and leap through the gap into the clean air.'

"_Kiba! Where are you?_" 'I can hear Hige's voice, getting closer. I howl again. Now I see a bushy brown wolf loping towards me, Cheza draped across his back.'

"_Cheza's fine! Well, she will be!_" 'I hear Hige call. He leaps over the flames, Cheza miraculously staying on his back. I show him where the gap is and he bounds through it, the flames closing behind him, just singeing his tail. At first I feel relief that everyone got out safely, then I feel the heat closing in around me. I see that there is no way out now, the flames have surrounded me completely.'

"_Tsume! Kiba's still in there!_" 'Toboe's voice sounds scared. Everything in front of me is getting blurry and I find that I can barely breathe. The flames roar higher and close in on me. In desperation I leap at the flames where the opening used to be.'

"_Kiba!!_" 'I feel the fire catch on my snowy coat, setting it on fire. I howl in pain as the fire spreads over my whole coat, burning my skin. The pain is too great, I can't think, I can't see—

"_KIBA!!_"

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_End of Kiba's Dream, back to regular POV_

"Kiba! Wake up, Kiba!" Toboe shook the older teen's shoulder. Kiba's face was flushed and sweaty, whimpering noises coming from behind his clenched teeth. Toboe put a hand on Kiba's forehead, then quickly withdrew it and turned to Tsume, eyes frightened. Kiba's eyes flew open. He clenched his teeth even tighter and one hand flew to the wound on his arm. Tsume leapt to his feet and hurried over.

"Something's wrong with him, Tsume," said Toboe. Tsume pried Kiba's fingers off his wound and started unwrapping the bandages. He took one look at the wound and looked at Toboe.

"It's infected," he said. "His wound's infected."

Well, how was it? I hope you liked it. I'm pretty untalkative today, sorry. Be sure to review!


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